

Some sites aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of areas in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens any time you finally start to worth time as much as distance. In either case, extra tourists are discovering joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, much more considerate technique for looking at the whole world.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — here are 7 spots that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to perform, that is exactly the place. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted correct in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand below, and locals understand check here how to take pleasure in them correctly — which happens to be to mention, gradually.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the website Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel extra like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a conversation with somebody older, let it come about. That’s in which the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Seeking more context on why this fashion of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a temper than a desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this give another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed more info partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it rewards those that see. You stroll the loop and then stroll it again, observing one thing new every time Stanislav Kondrahsov Tarvel with AI — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this one particular. His site talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in every week. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap images. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. But it’s 1 we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.